Appeals in the Appellate Division, Second Department

The Appellate Division, Second Department, is one of the four intermediate appellate courts that make up the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court. It is the court where most appeals from trial-level decisions in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the suburban counties surrounding New York City are heard and decided. If you have received an adverse ruling from a trial court in one of these counties, the Second Department is almost certainly the court that will review it.

The Second Department is widely recognized as the largest and busiest of the four Departments. Its geographic reach is enormous, and the volume of appeals it processes each year is correspondingly high. Understanding how this court works — its deadlines, its rules of practice, and the way appeals are perfected and calendared — is essential to presenting an effective appeal. Our firm regularly represents clients in appeals before the Second Department and can guide you through every stage of the process. For a broader overview, you may also wish to review our explanation of the appeals process in New York.

What Is the Appellate Division, Second Department?

The Appellate Division is divided into four geographic Departments. The Second Department is the one that serves the New York City counties of Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island), together with a large group of suburban and downstate counties. It is the counterpart, within its territory, to the Appellate Division, First Department, which covers Manhattan and the Bronx.

The Second Department hears appeals from a wide range of trial courts located within its boundaries, including:

• The Supreme Court (the trial court of general jurisdiction in New York) sitting in any county within the Department;
• The Surrogate's Court, which handles estate, probate, and trust matters — see our page on Surrogate's Court appeals;
• The Family Court, which handles custody, support, neglect, and related proceedings;
• The Civil Court and Criminal Court of the City of New York within the Department's counties; and
• The District Courts and City Courts located in the suburban counties.

In addition, the Appellate Term of the Second Department hears certain appeals from the lower courts — for example, many appeals from the Civil Court, the Criminal Court, and the District and City Courts are routed first to the Appellate Term rather than directly to the Appellate Division. Determining the correct appellate forum at the outset is an important early step, and an experienced appellate attorney can help you identify it.

Geographic Jurisdiction

The Second Department covers a remarkably broad territory. Its counties include:

• Kings County (Brooklyn)
• Queens County
• Richmond County (Staten Island)
• Nassau County
• Suffolk County
• Westchester County
• Rockland County
• Orange County
• Dutchess County
• Putnam County

Because this territory includes three of the five boroughs of New York City along with the populous suburban counties of Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley, the Second Department handles an exceptionally high case volume compared with the other Departments.

The Courthouse and How the Court Sits

The Second Department's courthouse is located in Brooklyn Heights at 45 Monroe Place. The court does not decide appeals with a single judge. Instead, appeals are heard and decided by panels of justices, who review the briefs and record, consider any oral argument, and issue a written decision on behalf of the court.

The Rules That Govern Second Department Appeals

Practice in the Second Department is governed by two principal sets of rules. The first is the statewide Practice Rules of the Appellate Division, found at 22 NYCRR Part 1250, which apply uniformly across all four Departments and address matters such as the content and formatting of briefs, the record and appendix, and the mechanics of filing. The second is the Second Department's own local rules of practice, found at 22 NYCRR Part 670, which supplement the statewide rules with requirements specific to this court.

Together, these rules govern how an appeal is perfected, how briefs must be formatted, what must be included in the record or appendix, and how and where documents are filed. Strict compliance matters: a brief that does not conform to the rules, or an appeal that is not perfected on time, can be rejected or dismissed regardless of the merits of the underlying argument.

Taking and Perfecting an Appeal

An appeal generally begins with a notice of appeal. As a rule, the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after you are served with a copy of the judgment or order together with written notice of its entry. This deadline is short and is strictly enforced, so it is important to act promptly after an adverse decision.

Filing the notice of appeal preserves your right to appeal, but it does not by itself bring the matter before the court for decision. The appeal must then be perfected. Perfecting an appeal means assembling and filing the record on appeal (or an appendix), preparing and serving your appellate brief, and placing the appeal on the court's calendar in accordance with the applicable rules and time frames. In the Second Department, appeals are filed electronically through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF) in cases that are subject to e-filing.

Key practical steps include:

• Filing a timely notice of appeal within the 30-day window;
• Assembling the record or appendix that the justices will review;
• Preparing a brief that complies with 22 NYCRR Parts 1250 and 670;
• Perfecting the appeal so that it is calendared for the court's consideration; and
• Filing through NYSCEF where electronic filing applies.

Oral Argument and Decision

Once an appeal is fully briefed and calendared, the court may hear oral argument, during which the panel of justices can question the attorneys about the legal issues presented. After argument or submission, the court issues a written decision. Given the high case volume in the Second Department, careful, rule-compliant briefing is often the most important part of the process.

Further Review by the Court of Appeals

A decision of the Second Department is not always the end of the road. In some circumstances, a party may seek further review by the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. Such review is generally discretionary and available only in limited circumstances, which makes it all the more important to build a strong record and present your arguments persuasively at the Appellate Division stage.

Contact Our Appellate Attorneys

If you are considering an appeal in the Appellate Division, Second Department, or have already received an adverse decision in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, or any of the surrounding counties, we can help. The Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, PLLC, located in Midtown Manhattan, handles appeals throughout the Second Department. Call us at 212-233-1233 or email [email protected] to discuss your appeal. You may also visit our contact page to reach our office.